Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals on September 12 approved a Special Permit and variances for the construction of an accessory dwelling unit above an attached garage at 48 Pierce Street, but not before debating another town board’s reaction to the plan and whether the applicant should wait until a new law goes into effect.
ZBA Chairman David Arancio said a letter that the panel received reports the Planning Board strongly opposes approval of the 48 Pierce Street construction because it is on an already undersized lot. This led ZBA member Jeffrey Costa to complain that the Planning Board’s correspondence was too vague and that its members should appear before the ZBA to provide a more detailed explanation.
Costa also argued that the letter should been copied to the applicant, homeowner Nicholas Carnazza, so he’d be aware of the objection to his plan.
Carnazza echoed Costa’s comments. He said he never knew his project was being discussed by another board. He would have liked to be able to attend such a discussion.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” Costa said. “We should have sent the letter to the applicant. We should have informed him better.”
Arancio explained that sending such correspondence to other town boards for their opinion on ZBA petitions is part of the process and that meeting agenda items are posted online. It is up the applicant to seek this posting information.
At another point in the discussion, board members briefly suggested but quickly dismissed the idea that the applicant should put this petition on hold because of a pending new state law.
Board member Richard Cutler noted that in February 2025 a newly approved Massachusetts housing bill will approve such a project by right. The relevant provision of the bill states that no zoning ordinance or zoning bylaw shall prohibit or unreasonably restrict or require special permitting for “the use of land or structure for a single, accessory-dwelling unit or the rental thereof in a single-family, residential, zoning district.”
Ultimately, the board nearly unanimously approved the construction of what Carnazza’s petition states is a studio apartment above his garage to house his aging, recently widowed father.
The board granted Carnazza a Special Permit with the condition that the new living space be no more than 700 square feet and approved variances to the minimum required, front-lot frontage and minimum required lot size. The vote, however, was 4-1 with Arancio the lone no vote for both the Special Permit and the variances.
In other action, the board accepted the withdrawal “without prejudice” of an application for a Use Variance to construct a second-story accessory dwelling above an attached garage at 343 Neck Road. The board had previously discussed that this project could also be affected by the new Massachusetts housing bill when it becomes law in 2025.
The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals’ next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, October 10, at 7:15 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Zoning Board
By Michael J. DeCicco